Sunday

Today Maxwell and I travelled back to a village we went to last week to meet with the chiefs and local officials. It was a productive meeting and we got across our point that this needs to be a partnership, not simply us providing everything. What we need from them is nothing substantial, simply some space, rent-free or cheap, and a bit of furniture. More importantly though, we need them to do everything they can to get people in the area registered under the Health Insurance Scheme. We might have a meeting with the local MP Tuesday or Wednesday—they are supposed to call us Monday with the details. At one point, I was in a taxi that needed to be hotwired to get it going.

I went back to town around 7 to watch the Canada-Finland game, which turned out to be a huge letdown. Not even a goal to get excited about. Canada has some issues, but I still have faith. Pronger stood out as being particularly bad—too many dumb penalties and he was brutal in covering Koivu on the first goal. Like I said, I still have faith that we can pull it out, but we need to gel. It is going to be a really tough road though. We’re going to get Sweden or Russia or Slovakia in the quarters. Oh well, you’ve got to beat them eventually. Where’s Belarus when you need them?

The game ended after 10 and I knew it was a bit of a risk, as finding a tro-tro home at that time is difficult. I waited at the place they come for a while and there were still quite a few people there trying to do the same. I ended up walking with some women and their children for a bit til we managed to find a tro. I was going to stay in town Monday to watch the women’s game, but since it’s Sweden, not the US, I think I’ll pass. It’s not worth the hassle.